


Oklahoma, Unfortunately

by SheWinsHim



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Road Trip, Angst, Colorado, Cults, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Idaho, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kansas, M/M, Oklahoma, Oregon - Freeform, Southern Will Solace, Strangers to Lovers, Utah - Freeform, Washington, wyoming - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:34:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28023264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SheWinsHim/pseuds/SheWinsHim
Summary: Nico decides to take a road trip with Hazel before college starts back up again.  He ends up in the middle of nowhere and completely lost. Luckily, he runs into someone at a gas station who might be able to help him.
Relationships: Hazel Levesque & Will Solace, Nico di Angelo & Hazel Levesque, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 19
Kudos: 59





	1. A Gas Station Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> This is a rewrite of my first attempt at this story, named Oklahoma, Unforunately (Old). The original was going in a more coming-of-age direciton, while this is a lot more rural fantasy. This one also has Luke in it and a more coherent set of antagonists and conflicts (I hope).

God, Nico hated the Midwest. Did Oklahoma count as the Midwest? Was he even in Oklahoma yet? It seemed like they’d been driving for hours, but how large was Texas even? Experts remain divided on all three questions. And by experts, Nico meant himself and Hazel because no one in their right mind would study, live, or even visit wherever the fuck they were. For miles and miles it had just been rolling field of wheat and corn after rolling field of wheat and corn. They had passed a river at some point and some green that came with it, but other than that, nothing. They were almost out of gas, their phones were both dead, and they only had $10.56 between them (Hazel had counted).

“There’s a town up ahead!” Hazel exclaimed, almost jumping out of her seat. Nico squinted and, surely enough, he could see the tops of a few short buildings emerging from the horizon. “Civilization!”

“I think you have to have a little more than just 6 buildings and a general store to be considered civilization,” Nico shot back, but it had no bite. He had to admit, seeing any kind of humanity would be welcome at this point. A green sign emerged from behind a crop of rye, and Nico read it aloud. “Welcome to Brenton, OK. Health, Family, and Prosperity.”

“Sounds… lovely,” Hazel muttered.

After a few minutes, they pulled into town- which was admittedly little more than 6 buildings and a general store- and made a sharp turn into the gas station. The card readers on all the pumps were broken and Nico came to the unfortunate conclusion that had to go inside to pay. After a few looks around he promptly turned to Hazel. “Stay in the car, and keep the doors locked.”

“What? Why?” she exclaimed, pouting. “I want to go buy gummy worms.”

“First off, we have God knows how many miles till we get to Oklahoma City and only ten dollars between us. We can’t waste it on snacks. Second, I can see four Trump signs without turning around,” Nico explained. Hazel glanced around, frowned, and slumped down further in her seat. He felt bad, but he knew he was right. Nowhere this red would take well to a young black woman. “I’ll be back in a moment. If you have to use the bathroom, just stay by the car and we can go together when I get back-”

“Wait!” Hazel called out as Nico stepped out of the car. She tossed him his aviator jacket. “Put that on and zip it up.”

“Hazel, it’s like 90 degrees-”

“Your shirt,” she stated. Nico glanced down. Maybe today was the wrong day to wear a t-shirt with a huge rainbow skull that said ‘Be gay, do crime’. He nodded, zipping up the black leather jacket quickly.

Hazel didn’t say anything else, so Nico tossed her the keys and made his way into the gas station’s convenience store. A sign read in sharpie, ‘Cash Only’. Just their luck. “10.56 on pump 4,” he told the cashier, about to hand her all of his and Hazel’s money. His stomach grumbled and she raised an eyebrow.

“Anything else?” she asked. Nico glanced back at the snack isle for a second, his eyes falling on the gummy worms.

“No-”

“We’ll have these too, please,” someone said behind him, placing a plethora of snacks and candies on the counter. The cashier glanced at the pile, then up at Nico and the strange young man.

“That’ll be $25.43,” she said dryly. The stranger flashed Nico a blindingly wide smile (his eyes were sky blue, Nico realized, and his hair was as gold as the wheat that grew around them like weeds) and handed the cashier a few bills.

“Thank you,” the stranger said sing-songedly. He had a slight southern drawl, Nico realized. It’s cute, said another, traitorous, part of his brain. Nico was jolted out of this train of thought by being handed most of the pile of snacks by the man.

“Huh?” Nico exclaimed, almost dropping them.

“I said we’d better get going soon,” the man explained, shooting Nico another smile. He led Nico out of the store, and Nico just followed.

“Who are you?” Nico asked once they were outside, shoving the bags of candy into the strangers arm. “And what the fuck?”

“I’m Will Solace,” the man said. “And I noticed you looked a little… lost.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Nico huffed, sweating a little from a combination of the Oklahoma midday heat and his dark leather jacket. And that was totally all.

“First off, you gave the cashier an oddly specific amount- which meant that’s either all the money you have or all the money you can afford to spend right now. You’re obviously hungry, but didn’t get any food, which only reinforces my first theory. Plus, your phone is dead; I saw you check it, probably out of instinct, but it didn’t turn on-”

“Alright! I get it! But for your information, I’m not lost. Just a little… turned around at the moment,” Nico stated, feeling oddly defensive. “What’s in it for you, though?”

The man- Will, looked a little taken aback by this. “What do you mean?”

“Why did you pay for my gas and buy me these? What do you want?”

“What makes you think I want something?”

“You’re too nice,” Nico said, his eyes narrowing.

“I couldn’t have just done this out of the goodness of my heart? Haven’t you ever heard of Southern hospitality?”

“No.”

“That’s awful negative-”

“So I can just take these,” Nico snatched the candy back from Will. “And leave? Free of charge?”

“Well-”

“Okay, great! Thanks for the gas and food,” Nico exclaimed, flashing Will his best imitation of Will’s smile. He turned to the car, Hazel sitting on the hood, giving him a strange look.

“Wait!” Will called out. Nico turned back around, the grin on his face genuine this time. He quickly wiped it from his face when he realized what he was doing. “I- I actually… I need a ride.”

“Okay. And?” Nico knew he was being an asshole, but he didn’t know this guy. No matter how cute he was, or how sad his deep blue eyes looked, or how he was pretty much Nico’s type (this was the traitorous side of Nico’s brain talking again). “You’re some random guy who paid for my gas and snacks. If I owe you anything, it’s about $25. You could be dangerous- could be planning to kill me and steal my car.”

“I- I swear, I’m not. Please,” Will begged. He glanced behind Nico and turned pale. Nico turned to look as well, and saw a red pickup truck pulling into town and what looked like a furious white man behind its wheel. “I need to get out of here. Now.”

Nico looked at the pickup truck, then at Will, then at Hazel. Hazel gave him a look back. “What are you doing?” the look said.

“I’ll pay for your gas,” Will pleaded.

“I don’t know,” is what Nico responded with a shrug.

“Help him, you idiot,” Hazel ordered with a hand gesture.

Nico sighed and looked back at Will, who was practically trembling. He hoped his sister, or at least his interpretation of her silent gestures, could be trusted. “Fine. Get in the car. But we’re going to Seattle, and I’m not taking any detours or anything like that for you.”

“Thank you so much,” Will said at lightning speed, hurtling to the backseat of Nico’s car. Hazel hopped in the passenger seat, glancing back at Will and out the rear window as Nico peeled out of the gas station.

“There’s a man who was in a red pickup truck yelling at us,” Hazel remarked. She looked directly at Will. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

“Uh- I don’t… He was… I-” Will stammered, simultaneously blushing and turning pale.

“Kidding. I’m Hazel Levesque, and this is Nico, my brother. You are?”

“My name is Will. It’s lovely to meet you, Hazel.” Will extended his hand and Hazel shook it firmly. Nico just scowled, glancing at them in the rearview mirror. “Nico Levesque, huh? It has a certain ring to it.”

“Di Angelo. Not Levesque,” Nico corrected.

“Nico di Angelo… That sounds oddly familiar,” Will muttered. Hazel and Nico shared a knowing glance moments before he exclaimed, “Like Hades di Angelo? Di Angelo Oil?”

“Yup. Hades is my father,” Nico admitted gruffly.

“What’s the son and daughter of an oil magnate doing in the middle of nowhere, Texas with no cash?” Will asked, his face the perfect picture of confusion. “I thought precious minerals just fell out of y’alls pockets.”

“Well, we-” Hazel began.

“We’ll tell you once you tell us why you were running from that guy,” Nico stated. Will turned red and pale again, which Nico had to consider a special talent at this rate. Hazel frowned and clicked her mouth disapprovingly.

“You said you were going to Seattle, right?” Will said, awkwardly staring out the window.

“Among other places.”

“Well, that sounds far better than Texas, so if you wouldn’t mind taking me. I would be more than happy to pay for your gas, of course,” Will mumbled.

“You have yourself a deal!” Hazel responded, butting in before Nico could say anything.

“You would if we knew where we're going. I don’t see any signage, our phones are dead and we don't have a charger,” Nico explained.

“You can use mine to navigate for now and...” Will reached into his pocket and pulled out a short white cord. “I have a car charger.”

“Perfect!” Hazel smiled, plugging in her phone as they peeled out of the gas station parking lot. “To Seattle we go!”


	2. Of Bartenders and Badassery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Car trouble leads to an unfortunate run in with a cult.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not me posting almost all I've written in one night. Buffer? Doesn't exist.

"Well, fuck," Nico muttered, coughing as he opened up the hood and smoke bellowed out. "We have a slight problem. The car's smoking  _ and _ we have a flat."

Will and Hazel popped up behind him, Will fanning Hazel with his cap. "That looks bad," Will said quite unhelpfully.

"I don’t smell fuel, so it's just an overheated engine," Hazel said, pushing both boys aside. "I can fix that but we're going to need to change the tire."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Nico asked, glancing around. He didn't know his way around a car at all, just how to drive one. Will looked similarly at a loss.

Hazel glanced at Nico and Will. "I think that was a town we saw just a little ways away. Why don't we go check it out and see if we can get someone to help with the tire?"

Nico nodded and shot a look at Will, who still just kinda looked lost. Either way, they trudged off towards the town, leaving silence and dirt in their wake. "So where are you from?" Will asked awkwardly.

"Italy. Hazel's from New Orleans."

"Italy? That sounds amazing!" Will exclaimed, starry-eyed. "I've wanted to go for the longest time. I'm just from boring old Texas."

A thought suddenly occurred to Nico. "Are you running away from home?" Nico asked. Will froze for a second, his smile disappearing from his face. Hazel turned to Nico, probably to chastise him. "Forget I asked-"

"I mean I am, kind of. My mom's in Los Angeles, moved there after she and my dad split up. My dad- he… uh, stayed in Texas. And I stayed with him."

Another thought flashed through Nico's head. "How old are you?" Nico could almost see the headlines now. 'Immigrant Kidnaps Underage Texan'. Dear Lord, he was too young to have a mugshot.

Will gave him a strange look. "I'm 19. You?" Nico almost let out a sigh of relief.

"Same. Hazel’s-”

“I’m 18,” Hazel said. “But my birthday isn’t too far off.”

“So what brought you to Oklahoma?”

“Road trip. We were planning to go from New Orleans up to Seattle, then down the Pacific coast,” Hazel explained.

“That sounds fun!” Will said cheerfully. “If I’m gonna be honest, I’ve never left Texas before, so this is a fun new experience for me.”

Nico smirked. “Car breaking down in the middle of nowhere your idea of a ‘fun new experience’?”

Will frowned. “Well, not exactly, but… Well, way better than if I was still there.”

“So why are exactly were you running from that guy?” Nico asked awkwardly. “Was that your dad?”

“Uh, no. I was going to try and hitchhike out of Texas and he offered me a ride up to Oklahoma City.” Will fell silent for a moment, the only sound between them the whistle of the wind. “It didn’t… I didn’t… I don’t know.”

“It’s okay,” Nico said softly, wondering if he should pat Will or offer some sort of consolation or something or if it would be awkward. Hazel laid a comforting hand on Will’s shoulder. “I-”

“We’re here!” Will announced suddenly, pointing to where the path led into town. Town was, once again, more generous than it probably deserved. It was just a few buildings that served as the central meeting point for farms. It also seemed to be completely deserted. “Look!” Correction, almost completely deserted. At the end of town there was a bar who’s ‘Open’ sign flickered weakly in the window.  
“Let’s hope someone there knows how to replace a tire,” Nico muttered, pushing the bar’s door open with perhaps a little more force than necessary. The bar was only slightly less deserted than the town it was; Nico could count the number of people there on one hand. Nico glanced around, his eyes landing on the bar and the bartender. He didn’t look more than a few years older than Nico or Will, but he had a large scar than ran from his chin up through his eye. His hair was blonde, like Will’s, but cropped short and much lighter- almost white.

“What brings y’all into town?” the bartender asked, looking a little surprised to see what Nico assumed were the first strangers in town in decades. “Not often we get newcomers.”

“Our car broke down,” Nico explained. “Would you happen to know how to replace a busted tire.”

The bartender smiled, shaking his head. “I don’t. But Tammy over there does. Tammy!”

A woman in one of the booths looked up. “Yah?” she called back.

“These folks’ car’s tires done burst. Can ya fix them?” the bartender hollered.

“Yup!” Tammy called back, standing up and walking over to the bar. “Which one of y’all is gonna come with me to fetch my tools and show me where the car is?”

“Oh, we can all go-” Nico said, but the bartender cut him off with a wave of his hand.

“Nonsense!” the bartender exclaimed. “Why don’t you two stay here, while you accompany Tammi. No sense in all of y’all going there just to wait in the hot sun.”

Nico and Hazel shared a look. “I’ll go-” Will began.

“I’ll go,” Hazel said confidently, ignoring Nico’s ‘what the fuck are you doing’ glare. “Nico, Will, you two stay here.” Tammy nodded and Hazel follower her out of the bar.

The bartender laughed softly. “I assume you two are Nico and Will?”

“I’m Nico,” Nico said, sparing a glance in the direction Hazel had walked. “That’s Will.”

“Nice to meet you both. I’m Luke,” the bartender said with a smile. Nico didn’t offer one back, but Will did, and even shook Luke’s hand. “Can I get you two some drinks while you’re waiting for your friend to get back?”

“Just water, please,” Nico said.

“Do you know how to make a virgin pina colada?” Will asked, his eyes sparkling.

“Uh… no. But I can make you a pink lemonade,” Luke said with a polite smile.

“That works too!” Will responded with a big smile.

“So, Nico, what brings you out to our little town?” Luke asked, handing them their drinks. “Other than your unfortunate vehicular incident, of course.”

“We’re on our way to Wichita,” Nico said, sipping his water. “Going to see family there.”

“You have family in Wichita?” Will exclaimed, gaping at Nico. “Why didn’t you tell me that? We should totally stop by- I thought we were just passing through.”

Nico shot the blonde boy a glare that he hoped conveyed the  _ I was lying because I don’t know this man _ and  _ I was lying you idiot _ . Will seemed to get at least part of the message, blushing and quickly downing the rest of his pink lemonade. “My Aunt Demeter lives by the Botanical Gardens in Wichita,” Nico lied, kicking Will under the bar to keep him silent.

“That’s so cool!” Luke said. “I have a great aunt or something like that in Kansas City. Not rightly sure which one, mind.”

“I’ve always wanted to go to Kansas City. Both of them. Kansas Cities?” Will mumbled, his eyes wandering around the bar. He was blushing a little bit and Nico felt his gaze drawn to the way the blush crept down his neck and into the collar of his shirt.

Nico was so transfixed with the way Will was blushing he only heard the end part of whatever Luke was saying. “-fighter as your sister,” the older boy pondered, offering them a wolfish smile.

“What the fuck did you say?” Nico asked, standing up. His vision blurred slightly and he had to grab the table to steady himself.

Luke gave him a blank stare. “I said I wondered if you were as much of a fighter as your sister.” His voice was different, his warm accent bleeding away to reveal a much colder tone.

Now Will was on his feet, his eyes hazy but afraid. “Nico, we should-” It was like a wave of nausea hit him and he stumbled, almost falling. Confusion washed over his face, quickly replaced by the horror that comes with realization. “Our drinks.” With that, his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed, dropping to the floor like a ragdoll.

“Will!” Nico exclaimed. He tried to get up, but his vision swam. “Motherfucker-” Then his vision went completely black and darkness claimed him.

Will awoke upside down in a barn. For a second he wondered mutely why he was sleeping on the ceiling, his mind hazy. Then he saw Nico’s limp body hanging next to him and he snapped back to reality like a car crash. His hands and legs were bound, and he was hanging from the ceiling by his feet like a pig carcass. “Let me go!” Will yelled, thrashing and moving as much as he could in hopes to dislodge himself. He glanced over at the smaller boy- Nico was breathing. “Nico, wake up,” he said in a harsh whisper.

Nico stirred, muttering something about Hazel and the car, glancing around for a second with blurry eyes. Then, like Will, he realized exactly what was happening and started to struggle against his restraints. “Will, what the fuck-”

“You’re awake!” Luke exclaimed, appearing behind Will. “Don’t bother struggling against your bonds- you’ll just hurt yourself.” His previous Southern accent was completely gone.

“Fuck you, you motherfucking asshat,” Nico spit out. Luke frowned and stepped towards Nico, pulling out a roll of duct tape. “I’ll fucking kill you-” Luke ripped a piece of tape off the roll and placed it over Nico’s mouth, reducing his angry yelling to an angry muffled sound.

“Much better,” Luke muttered, turning to Will. “Now, Will, you seem much more civil than your friend over here. If I let you down from there, you won’t do anything stupid like run, right?”

Will just looked at Luke. “You’re insane-”

“How about this?” Luke said loudly. “If you try to run away, I’ll kill Nico over here. So, will you just please cooperate?”

Will nodded quickly. “Yes.” Luke smiled and undid the bonds holding Will up, causing him to drop to the floor. With a friendly smile, Luke helped him up and took off the rest of his bonds.

“Now, come with me,” Luke ordered, leading them out of the barn and into a small shed next to it. Will looked around, hoping to see something, anything, that could help him. “And don’t bother screaming, no one will hear you. No one that cares, anyways.”

The shed was pitch black on the inside, its windows all completely bordered up. Luke pulled a chain on the ceiling and a light flickered on, revealing that every single wall barring the door was lined with books. There was nothing else in the shack in fact, just Luke, Will, and a shit ton of books. “Are you going to kill me in here?” Will asked as calmly as he could. “Fair warning, I bleed a lot, and I would  _ hate _ to get it on any of ‘yer fancy books her.”

“I’m not going to kill you, Will,” Luke said, running his hands along the covers of various books, as if he was looking for something with touch alone. “And we both know you’re an expert at cleaning up blood.”

Will paled. “What the fuck are you-”

Luke laughed, too loud and too clearly. “Allow me to let you in on a little secret, Will,” Luke said with a sad smile, like he felt bad for Will. “You have been lied to.”

“Shut up-“

“The world is not a kind place. Your God is not a kind one. He does not care about you or anyone else. In fact, he has long since abandoned this world and all its inhabitants to rot. But you knew that already, didn’t you, Will?” Luke’s voice dripped with sympathy.

“What is this then? Some sort of cult?” Will spat out, glancing at the door. He could probably make a run for it, but he would never be able to get Nico out of his bonds before Luke caught up. Maybe if he-

“It is a cult, but in the most ancient sense of the word.” Luke pulled a book off the shelf, inspecting it for a moment before gingerly sliding it back into place. “Our god is one so ancient that he was worshipped thousands of years before the son of your God died for your sins.”

“And I suppose your god is also so much better than mine. Bigger. Better. Faster. Stronger.” Just keep him talking so you can figure out a plan. Just keep him talking. If he’s talking, he’s not hurting Nico or Hazel or you.

“You’re funny,” Luke said dryly. “Good quality to have. But you’re also right. Chronos is far beyond anything that the you could ever even dream of dreaming of.”

“And what makes your god any better?” Will asked, his heart pounding in his head.

“Will, I’m not going to lie to you. Chronos is not kind. He is not compassionate. He can even be cruel, at times.” Luke smiled again, but it wasn’t sad or sympathetic. It was the smile of a predator in the woods. “But at least he’s here.”

“Bullshit.”

“Really?” Luke picked up a few flowers from the pile and began to twist them together. “Chronos is the father of time. The Crooked One. He is in every tick of the clock, in every whoosh of the scythe as it cuts through the air. In every dying breath and every newborn cry. As you drift off to sleep, you pass through his twilight realm. It is at his mercy that you do not stay.”

“You’re full of horseshit and bullshit, which is honestly impressive-”

“He was there when the Earth was just cooling magma,” Luke said, his blue eyes locking with Will’s. “He was there when your father hit your mother and she fell, twisting her ankle on the kitchen floor.”

Will’s blood ran cold. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“He was there when she left him. When she left you. He knows that you still blame her-”

“Shut up.”

“For leaving. And for letting him hit her. For letting him hit you when she was gone. He was there when you cursed God under the covers at night. He heard you, Will. And he gave me a message for you.” Luke paused, waiting for a response. But none came. “You’re alone. No family, no friends, no one. Except him. He will always be there for you, Will, if you just let him.”

Will thought he might be crying but didn't want to give Luke the satisfaction of acknowledging it by checking. "Why are you doing this?"

Luke shrugged. "Nico and Hazel will make excellent sacrifices to Chronos."

"And me?"

"You're free to go. Tammy fixed up your car; you can take it and drive out of here."

"What's stopping me from leaving and coming back with the police?"

Luke shrugged. "Nothing. But by the time you go get them, we'll be gone." He paused, letting the wind dance through the town's dusty roads. "Of course, you could always join us."

"You're fucking mental."

"Probably," Luke admitted, stepping closer to Will. "But if you join us, we'll let your friends go. Unharmed."

"What?"

"A convert is worth a thousand sacrifices," Luke explained with another wolfish grin.

"So I just have to…"

"Pledge your body and soul to service of Chronos. Here." Luke handed Will a large leather bound tome. It was strangely warm to the touch and Will swore it vibrated on a steady beat, like a pulse. "Hold that and repeat after me. I, Will Solace, do pledge-"

"I got suspended once in 9th grade," Will said, his eyes locked on the strange book in his hands. "My dad was furious. Broke my arm and I had to take another week off of school for it to heal. Did Chronos tell you about that?"

Confusion and annoyance flashed across Luke’s face. "Of course, but if you would just say the words-"

"Did Chronos tell you why I was initially suspended?" Will asked, gripping the book so tight his knuckles went white.

"No. I don't see how that's relevant," Luke said impatiently. "Say the fucking words-"

Will took that opportunity to swing the book as hard he could, slamming it into Luke’s head. There was a loud thud and Luke crumpled like someone had just pressed the off switch. Will stood there for a moment before cursing and running back to the shed where Nico had been, still clutching the book. “Nico!” he exclaimed, running to the bound boy and ripping off the tape Luke had placed over Nico’s mouth.

“Will?” Nico rasped as Will fiddled with his bonds. “What did you do with Luke?”

“I hit him. Hard,” Will said simply. He managed to unknot the rope holding Nico’s feet in the air and the shorter boy tumbled to the ground. “Sorry. You okay?”

Nico got to his feet a little wobbly, dusting himself off. “The only thing bruised is my pride,” he said half-heartedly. “Where’s Hazel? And what’s that book?”

"I don't know. To both. We should get back to the car-"

"I'm not fucking leaving her!" Nico exclaimed.

"I know. But the last time we saw her was when she was going to the car, so-"

Will was interrupted by the sound of a loud crash and screaming. He and Nico rushed outside to find the small ghost town suddenly full of life. A building was on fire, part of a wall having caved in. People, presumably other followers of Cronos, were running around in the chaos. "Hazel!" Nico yelled, desperately searching the people passing for his sister.

"We should go before they realize we're-" Will began, emitting a high-pitched scream when someone grabbed his arm from behind. He whirled around, ready to hit whoever it was with the book, and came face to face with Hazel. "Hazel!"

"Will!" Hazel exclaimed, wrapping him and her brother in a tight hug. "I thought you were… I'm so glad you're alright."

"Where were you?" Nico asked, his eyes reflecting the red glow of the fire.

"I'll explain once we get out of here," Hazel said. "This way."

Following Hazel, she led them away from the panicked crowd and to behind a small barn, where there car was parked, the tire good as new. "I guess Luke wasn't lying," Will muttered. Nico gave him a quizzical look but didn't say anything.

"Let's leave," Nico said firmly. The other two nodded in agreement and they were off, leaving the burning town in the dust behind them. After a few minutes of driving on the dirt road, they merged back onto the highway. They could barely see the town from the road, but a plume of smoke hung in the sky over the town.

"So… hate to bring up that whole traumatic mess we just left, but what happened to y'all?" Hazel asked. "And Will, why do you have that book?" Will glanced down and realized he was still carrying the strange book Luke gave him.

"The bartender drugged us and had us hogtied upside down. Said he wanted to sacrifice us to some shitty god or something-"

"Chronos," Will said absent-mindedly. He could almost feel the strange looks Hazel and Nico were both giving him, so he quickly added, "Luke, the bartender guy, uh he was… he wanted me to confess my sins or something before I was sacrificed." He hadn't meant to lie, but the words slipped out his mouth like water through one's fingers. "I knocked him out. Stole this book too."

"Nice!" Hazel said, high-fiving him. "Tammy tried to knock me out with a wrench, so I ran her over. I drove into town to find y'all, overheard some goons talking about sacrificing some guy in a dark aviator jacket, so I set that fire as a distraction so I could find you."

"You what?" Nico exclaimed, staring at his sister with wide eyes. "Hazel Marie Levesque, we do not commit arson in this family-"

"They were going to kill us!" Hazel exclaimed. "And I didn't think the fire would work  _ that _ well. How was I supposed to know old buildings go up like a match."

An awkward silence followed. "So do y'all wanna stop for burgers?" Will asked with the biggest smile he could muster.


	3. Diners, Drive-Ins, and Temporally Aberrant Pocket Dimensions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will, Hazel, and Nico decide to get burgers. The food is greasy and the service is... interesting, but the most interesting part is that Will finds himself unable to leave. Literately. Stuck in a time loop where no one else seems to remember anything before the reset, Will is forced to team up with a grey-eyed waitress to try and escape.

"How did people live before milkshakes were invented?" Hazel exclaimed. She had already finished hers, so Will gave her the rest of his. "Honestly, they're God's gift to mankind."

"Nothing like burger and fries after you almost get sacrificed by an insane bartender!" Will joked. He glanced through the diner's window to where Nico stood outside, talking on the phone to the police. He was pacing around impatiently, occasionally pausing to say something angrily to the person on the other side of the phone. "How do you think it's going with the police?"

"Probably not too well. Our story is pretty crazy," Hazel said. Outside, Nico hung up and stalked back inside the diner. "How'd it go?"

"They said they would dispatch an officer first thing in the morning," Nico grumbled, sliding into the seat next to Will. "I told them they would probably gone by morning, but the call went dead and-" Nico let out a frustrated groan and slumped down, burying his head in his arms. Will patted his back sympathetically. "I want a fucking McFlurry."

"Language," Hazel chastised. "And this place doesn’t have McFlurries, but why how about you just get a milkshake instead? I've had two- I can assure you they’re better than anything at McDonalds."

Nico mumbled something that sounded like 'fine' so Will waved to the waitress. She wandered over, pulling out a notepad with a smile, her grey eyes briefly flicking to the book Will was clutching in his lap. "Can I get anything else for you guys?"

"Can we get another vanilla milkshake and the check, please?" Will asked. She nodded and scribbled something down on her notepad.

"I'll have that right out," she said, walking away.

"So… why are y'all going to Seattle?" Will asked in an attempt to make some small talk that wasn't about almost being sacrificed an hour ago.

Hazel and Nico shared a look. "Road trip," Hazel said. "I go to Tulane, so Nico flew out to meet me there. We wanted to do something fun before-"

"Before school started again," Nico finished. "And we were super busy. How about you? Why'd you want to go to Seattle."

"Sounds fun!" Will said. "And my reason isn't really anything fun like yours. I just wanted to visit my mom in LA, and Seattle is a lot closer to LA than Texas."

"Oh my God, wait." Hazel asked, her eyes sparkling. "We're going to Los Angeles after we go to Seattle. It's where our family is, so we wanted to visit them as kinda a final wing of our trip. You can come with us!"

"Hazel-" Nico began.

"One vanilla milkshake and the check," the waitress announced, placing the milkshake on the table and handing the check to Will. Hazel said thank you and the waitress was gone, off to take another order.

"Here, I'll pay-" Nico offered but Will shook his head.

"No, seriously. To be honest, I’m not too sure what’s really happened today, but I think y’all saved my life. So I got this one,” Will said firmly. Hazel and Nico both immediately produced matching frowns. “Y’all can pay next time.”

“Fine,” Nico said with a sigh. He turned to Hazel. “Hazel, we’re going to have to...”

Will let their conversation fade into background noise as he calculated the check. He left a 20% tip because being in the service industry was hard. The hours were endless and the customers, when not basically the same person over and over, were flat out rude. He even scribbled a nice smiley face next to the total. As he went over the bill one last time a sentence towards the bottom caught his eye. “Meet me in the bathroom in five minutes,” he read aloud. Nico and Hazel immediately ceased their conversation and stared at him. For an agonizingly awkward second, there was complete silence at their booth.

“What?” Hazel exclaimed, snatching the bill from Will and breaking the silence. “Oh my god, that waitress, she’s- she’s flirting with you.”

“She’s fucking propositioning you,” Nico grumbled, shifting so he could see the bill too. “That’s so-”

“Funny, oh my god,” Hazel said with a laugh. Will felt himself rapidly approaching the color of the ketchup on his plate. “Not funny because it’s funny that someone’s attracted to you. Because you’re attractive, so it’s normal. Right Nico? Will’s attractive?”

“Right,” Nico said automatically. Will didn’t think he could blush even more, but he was proved wrong once again. “Wait, what-”

“I just meant that this situation is funny,” Hazel explained. “Although honestly it’s a little awkward. What are you going to do?”

Will opened his mouth but no sound came out. Luckily Nico came to his aid. “We’re going to give the waitress the check and leave. Not go to the bathroom to do God knows what with some stranger.”

Hazel rolled her eyes. “Obviously Will isn’t going to get nasty with the waitress. I’m just saying she was flirting with him and she’s kinda hot. Will got game.”

“She’s not _that_ hot,” Nico snapped, bristling. Will decided that this moment would be a very nice moment if God decided to smite him. Maybe he should have asked Luke to sacrifice him. He decided slamming his head through the window to get away. Instead he stood up, shocking both Hazel and Nico into silence.

Beet red, he snatched the check from Hazel and declared, “I- I’m going to… give… the check. Waitress. Yes. I’ll be back.” He then marched to the counter, where the waitress was scribbling something on her notepad. “Hello, uh...” He glanced at her name tag. “Annabeth, I got your note and-”

“Great!” she said, not even glancing up at him. “And you brought the book too, perfect. Follow me.” She walked off, haphazardly tossing her apron on the counter.

Will glanced down. He hadn’t even realized he was still carrying the book. He then glanced back to the booth, where Hazel and Nico were both sitting and staring with wide eyes. With a silent prayer that Annabeth would just take the opportunity to take Will out behind the diner and shoot him, he followed her out into the evening air. “Look, I’m flattered, but-”

“The book,” she stated flatly. “How did you get it?”

Fuck. “I- I uh. Yard sale. I bought it. At a yard sale.”

Her grey eyes seemed to pierce his soul. “I’m going to need you to be completely honest with me, because there is no fucking way you got that book at a yard sale.”

“Well, I, uh, I guess you’re fresh out of luck because that… that is how I got it,” Will stammered, clutching the book tighter.

“Fine. Whatever. You need to help me.”

“What?”

“I’m trapped.”

“What?”

“I am trapped here. In this fucking diner. And I want out. You and your book, you are my way out.”

“What?” Will asked for the third time, his voice now the highest pitch it could possibly go. “How did you get trapped- why don’t you just leave when your shift is over? Does your boss make you stay after or something?”

Annabeth just sighed. “Look, I think this diner is its own pocket dimension and-”

“Huh?”

Annabeth groaned and clutched her head. “The first fucking magi to pass through and he’s a fucking idiot. Just my luck.”

“The what? Magi?”

“Magi. You have a book. Thus you are a magi.”

“Book? This is just a book. I don’t- what?”

Annabeth tapped her foot exasperatedly. “No! That book is more than just a book. It’s a book for magi, filled to the brim with magical text. It what gives them- you- your magic.”

“I’m not magic.”

“No, you’re fucking not! The book is!”

“Wait, so this is a magic book?”

“Yes.”

“And I’m a magi?”

“Apparently, but I’ve never met a magi so fucking clueless in my life,” Annabeth groaned, sinking to the floor and clutching her head. “Can you please just fucking help me get out of this fucking hellhole? This pocket dimension keeps looping and I really need to-”

“Look, uh, Annabeth, you seem like a nice girl, b- but I think I have to go now,” Will stammered, turning back towards the diner. “And since I have to, I will. So, I’m going to go now. Bye.”

“It won’t work! You’re stuck here, just like me!” Annabeth called after him, which only made Will walk faster. He got to the table at almost a jog.

“Annabeth is mentally not stable,” he explained at a rapid fire pace, grabbing Hazel and Nico’s hands and dragging them out the booth and to the front door. “Let’s go.”

“Wait- what?” Nico asked, pushing the diner’s front door open. They reached the car and Will opened the door, setting one foot inside and then... And then the world went white and Will found himself sitting right back in the booth.

  
  


"How did people live before milkshakes were invented?" Hazel exclaimed. She had already finished hers, so Will gave her the rest of his. "Honestly, they're God's gift to mankind."

“What?” Will exclaimed, standing up and looking around frantically. Annabeth gave him an _I told you so_ glare from behind the counter. “No, no, no, no. Hazel, we need to go.”

“What? Will, what’s wrong?” Hazel asked, glancing around.

“We already did this,” Will said. “And now we need to go.” He grabbed Hazel’s hand and dragged her out to where Nico was arguing on the phone with the police.

“Hazel? Will?” Nico asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Will says we need to leave. Now,” Hazel explained. “Any luck with the police?”

“No, actually,” Nico said with a huff. “The line went dead a few seconds ago. I was trying to call them back-”

“They said they would dispatch an officer first thing in the morning,” Will said, remembering what Nico had said before. Was it before anymore? God, fuck this. “And you told them that they would probably be gone by morning. But they didn’t care. And now you want a McFlurry.”

Nico’s eyes widened. “Yeah, how did you-”

“Let’s go!” Will almost yelled, his voice a high panicked pitch. “Car, everyone, now!”

“Will, what’s wrong? You’re acting so weird!” Hazel exclaimed. Will didn’t stop to explain, he just opened the car door. “We didn’t even pay!”

“Just drive,” Will commanded. Nico silently obeyed and they peeled out of the diner’s parking lot. Will let out a sigh of relief, just about to say that they got away and then the world went white and Will found himself sitting right back in the booth.

  
  


"How did people live before milkshakes were invented?" Hazel exclaimed. She had already finished hers, so of course Will gave her the rest of his. "Honestly, they're God's-"

“Gift to mankind,” Will finished. He glanced up at Annabeth, who was standing behind the counter with a smug smirk plastered across her face. “I need to talk to the waitress. Wait here.”

“Oh. Okay!” Hazel said, glancing at her brother briefly, who was still on the phone outside. “Have fun, I guess.”

Will nodded and stalked over to Annabeth, clutching his book tightly in hand. “I would like to preface this by saying that you aren’t any less insane. The world is just more fucking insane than usual,” he said, dropping the book on the counter between them. “Now how do I get the fuck out of here?”

“The book should help us,” Annabeth said smugly. “What I think we’re dealing with here is some sort of time-loop pocket dimension. It has its own timeline, or in this case, loop. It has it’s own physical rules- gravity is actually slightly weaker here, not by much, but still. That’s all fairly typical of a pocket dimension.”

“Okay, so...” Will took a deep breath. “Look, I know you think I’m a magi, or something, but I am not that. At all. So you’re going to have to keep things simple and slow for me. Because this all is a little much. And I’ve already had a pretty shitty day, so-”

“Okay, fine. That’s okay,” Annabeth said with another sigh. “Not to be like that, but I’ve had a really day too. Which is how long I’ve been stuck here, wondering if I was going to get eaten before I escaped.”

“Right. Okay. Sentient pocket dimension. I’ll just look that up real quick,” Will said, opening his book and flipping to the back, where the index is. Right above ‘Pocket squares, page 382’ was ‘Pocket dimension, page 634’. He flipped to the page and turned it to Annabeth. “Okay, so look here-”

“I can’t read that,” Annabeth said. “You’re showing me a page full of what looks like illegible scribbles done by a third grader.”

“Huh?” Will flipped the book back to him and scanned the page quickly. “No? Look here, it says, ‘Pocket dimensions erupt from reality-’”

“Will, no one else but you or maybe another magi can read that book,” Annabeth explained calmly. “That’s the reason magi are magi, only they can read the books. You can show it to me all you want, but I will never be able to read it.”

“Oh. Okay. Well, I guess I’ll just read it to you then-”

“Will?” Nico said, softly tapping Will’s shoulder. “Uh, sorry to bother you, but I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” He glanced at Annabeth. “Uh, hi. Can I get another vanilla milkshake.”

She flashed him a polite smile. “I’ll get that right to you.” None of them moved.

“Okay, I’m going to go back to the booth,” Nico said after a moment. “Will, are you okay?”

“I’m fine!” Will assured Nico with the best _everything is okay_ smile he could muster. “I’ll be right back in a second.”

Nico nodded and walked off. “Your boyfriend seems nice,” Annabeth remarked once Nico was just out of earshot.

Will blushed. “He’s not! We’re- no!”

Annabeth chuckled. “Sure.”

“Anyways- uh, why doesn’t Nico remember the resets? Or Hazel? Why is it just you and I? Is it just you and I?”

Annabeth sighed. “You’re a magi. That’s why you remember. Whatever magical shit this pocket dimension is pulling to reset the timeline doesn’t affect you because of that.”

“And you?”

Annabeth smiled. “I’m guess I’m far too clever for my own good.”

“That’s not an answer. And how do you know all this? About the books and magis and me?”

“That’s what you’re going to get until we get out of here.”

“No, you’re going to tell me. And you’re going to be 100% honest with me or else… we might never get out of here. Are you also a magi?”

Annabeth blinked. “I’m not, although I really wish I was in this case. I’m a member of the Order of Athena.”

“The… what now?”

“Think of us like the supernatural FBI. We take care of magical or otherworldly threats all across the Midwest and parts of the West.”

“So why do you need a magi? Can’t you just call the other magical members of the magical FBI?”

“If I could, I would. Unfortunately, all cell phone signals seemed to be cut off once you get trapped in the time loop. Nothing in, nothing out. The wifi doesn’t even work, which makes stuck here so much more of a drag-”

“Wait so is that why you remember?”

“Agents of the Order of Athena are blessed by her Mark,” Annabeth explained flatly. “It protects against various magical curses or enchantments, particularly ones to do with the mind or memory. That’s what I assume is helping me out here, but until I call more members of the Order and study this loop, I won’t know for certain.”

“Oh. I see. Lovely. Wait, if you’re part of the magical FBI, why are you working in some diner-”

“I was supposed to be on an undercover mission,” Annabeth said quickly. “First big one. And I fucking got trapped here instead, which is truly a sign if I’ve ever seen one. Anyways, what does your book say on our little situation?”

Will quickly scanned the page some more. “Uh… not much. Huh.”

“What?”

“Time loops like this aren’t that uncommon, apparently,” Will said. “They typically occur after some sort of extremely traumatic event, usually centered around one person whose pain created the loop. For example, multiple people have accidentally created time loops at the moment of the deaths of their loved ones or themselves.”

“Well, that’s not it,” Annabeth said angrily. “I’ve been here for a while and trust me, if someone was dying over and over, I would know.”

“Well, what are all the other patrons-” Will began. A loud ring silenced him. “What the-”

Annabeth cursed. “It’s closing time. See you soon.”

“Wait wha-” The world went white and Will found himself sitting back in the booth with Hazel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized in retrospect that I wrote a very angry, foul-mouthed Annabeth. Honestly, I'm kinda not mad about that.


	4. Burnt Flowers in Empty Cups

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth let out a frustrated groan and clutched her hair. “Does it even matter who this trap was set for? How do we get out of it?”
> 
> Will flipped to the next page and quickly scanned it. “O-kay… so it says here we need to ‘find the anchor and destroy it.’ Apparently every artificial loop has some sort of anchor object that maintains the loop.”
> 
> “Great! What would an anchor look like?”
> 
> “Uh… it could be anything? It says here the longer the time loop goes before resetting the larger the object. This one goes for only about 20 minutes so… it should be about yea big,” Will explained, holding his hands a few inches apart apart.

"The time loop resets just after closing time, which is 8:00. That gives us exactly 20 minutes and 32 seconds per loop,” Annabeth explained with a knowing smile as Will stalked up to the counter.

“That’s… how long have you been here?” Will asked, wondering how in the world she could have figured that out. It’s not like she could carry a timer with her between loops.

“By my calculations, 504 loops, which is about 8 days.”

“God… I would have gone insane-” Will began. Annabeth gave him a daggered glare and he quickly closed his mouth. “I mean, I don’t know how I would manage the loss of sleep alone, nevermind all the other stuff.”

“There is one benefit to this place,” Annabeth said with a sigh. “I never get more hungry or thirsty or anything like that. Every loop everything, and I mean everything, resets.”

“Well, that’s good to know, I guess. So, do you have any idea how this time loop could have started?” Will flipped back to the page in his book. “The person who started this time loop would obviously still be in it, so anyone that got caught in it after we can count out.”

Annabeth thought for a moment. “You and your friends are the only new customers since I’ve been here, so unfortunately that means anyone else is fair game. And the only traumatic thing I’m experiencing is having to clean underneath the tables, so it’s not me.”

“What about the other patrons? Your coworkers?”

Annabeth frowned. “Right now it’s just me and Joe, the fry cook in the back. Again, if anyone here was dying or in major psychological stress, I would know.”

Will considered this for a moment before going back to his book. “It says they could also be artificially created, although that would require a lot of resources and know-how.”

“If it was intentionally created, who was it supposed to trap?”

“I mean… who is trapped here besides us?”

Annabeth thought for a second. Then she pointed at a man and a woman sitting together by the back exit. “That’s Charles Beckendorf and Silena Beauregard. They just got engaged. I think Charles is some sort of accountant and Silena runs a flower shop. Silena is a huge fan of sci-fi. She likes that show, the one with the doppelgangers? Orphan Red? I don’t know.”

“My book says it’s really expensive to create one of these artificially,” Will murmured. “I doubt whoever did it would waste it on Charles and Silena. No offense to them. Anyone else in here?”

Annabeth pointed to two raven haired women sitting across from each other in a booth. “That’s Mary and Sue Anne Lew. They’re sisters on their way to Kansas City for a funeral.”

“Oh, well, that’s not huge massacre levels of traumatic, but that’s kinda sad. Maybe they accidentally created-” 

“I think they’re going out of courtesy to a family member of the deceased,” Annabeth said. “They said something about their friend Tricia when I asked about four dozen loops ago.”

“Well, damn. I guess it has to be artificially created then. Unless Joe the fry cook has some dark and terrible secret we’re not privy to. But who were they trying to trap?”

Annabeth let out a frustrated groan and clutched her hair. “Does it even matter who this trap was set for? How do we get out of it?”

Will flipped to the next page and quickly scanned it. “O-kay… so it says here we need to ‘find the anchor and destroy it.’ Apparently every artificial loop has some sort of anchor object that maintains the loop.”

“Great! What would an anchor look like?”

“Uh… it could be anything? It says here the longer the time loop goes before resetting the larger the object. This one goes for only about 20 minutes so… it should be about yea big,” Will explained, holding his hands a few inches apart apart.

“That’s not too helpful,” Annabeth muttered. Behind Will, Charles, the accountant awkwardly cleared his throat. “How can I help you? Sir.” Annabeth with a sunny but strained smile.

“Can I get the check, please?” Charles asked, glancing between Will and Annabeth a little suspiciously.

“Certainly. I’ll have that right to you,” Annabeth said, hurrying to the register. Instead of going back to his booth, Charles stuck around at the counter, starting to whistle after a second.

“Congratulations on your engagement!” Will said after a second.

“Thank you! Wait, how did you know?” Charles asked, his smile turning into confusion.

“Oh, uh, you just… have that vibe, you know?” Will said awkwardly.

“Uh… okay,” Charles said. “I’ll take your word for it.”

Luckily Annabeth returned with the check before Will could say anything else stupid. Once he got the check, Charles seemed more than happy to go back to his table. "Well, I just made a fool of myself," Will remarked with a grimace.

"Don’t worry about it. The loop should reset in a minute,” Annabeth said with a smirk. “Another benefit of it, I guess. No one remembers any unfortunate social gaffs.”

“Great. So let’s try to find the anchor,” Will said, shutting his book. “It should… vibrate or something when we touch it. So if anything starts to randomly vibrate, I guess we’ll know.” Just as he got up the world went white.

"How did people live before milkshakes were invented?" Hazel exclaimed. She had already finished hers, so Will gave her the rest of his. "Honestly, they're God's gift to mankind."

“Hazel? Can I ask you a question?” Will inquired with a sigh. He glanced over at the counter, Annabeth was there as always. “If you had to hide something really important in this diner, where would you put it?”

“Huh. That’s not really what I thought you would ask, but...” Hazel trailed off, thinking hard. “I guess I would put it in the freezer. Diners have one of those right?”

Will glanced over at Annabeth who shrugged, as if to say, “Why not?”

The most magical thing the freezer had was a green frozen patty that Will unceremoniously dumped out. “Not much point,” Annabeth pointed out. “It’ll just be back in a few minutes.”

“Yes, but no,” Will responded, grimacing as he poked through another package of frozen food.

"How did people live before milkshakes were invented?" Hazel exclaimed. She had already finished hers, so Will gave her the rest of his. "Honestly, they're God's gift to mankind."

“Hazel, if you had to hide something in this diner, and you didn’t hide it in the freezer, where would you hide it?” Will asked, gulping down a glass of water.

“Hm… the bathroom?”

“That’s a tricky one… behind the stoves?”

“That’s an oddly specific question. Do you think someone could hide something in the lights?”

Will faceplanted with a groan. “Hey, Hazel, can I ask you a weird question?”

“Of course! Are you okay, though?” Hazel said, a few drops of concern entering her voice. “You sound a little… tired.”

“I’m peachy. If you hid something in this diner, but you didn’t hide it in the bathroom, kitchen, behind the stoves, under the tables, in the lights, in the freezer, or between the seat cushions, where would you hide it?” Will asked.

“And not in the bushes outside, don’t forget we already looked there,” Annabeth added, startling both Hazel and Will. “Sorry, don’t mind me.”

“Uh- okay. Well, if it’s not there, I guess...” Hazel began, looking between Annabeth and Will with an expression that was the grandchild of worry and bewilderment. “Maybe a patron has it?”

Will and Annabeth locked eyes. “How the fuck did we not think of that?” Annabeth exclaimed, stalking away with a stormy expression.

One reset later they convened at the counter, Annabeth pulling out a napkin she had doodled on. “This is a map of all of the patrons. I say we do it together, starting from here and moving down.”

“Uh… okay. How do you want to do this?” Will asked.

“I’m tempted to just say we take them out back one by one and shake ‘em down,” Annabeth said. “Although I feel like that stems from having spent an ungodly amount of time trapped in this loop.”

“Why don’t we just talk to them?”

“Sounds good.”

“Did you trap me in this fucking loop? Just tell me now, because otherwise I swear to the gods I will make your life every bit a living hell as you have made mine-”

“Okay so, let’s try that again!” Will said happily. “New loop, new you. Remember, they won’t help us if you threaten to tear off their head!”

Annabeth sighed. “I know. It would help a lot if we knew what we were looking for. Going around touching everything in a 600 foot radius is getting us nowhere.”

“We know it’s about yae big,” Will said, holding his hands out again. Annabeth just glared in response. “Well, it’s not like we can cast a finding spell or something.”

“Wait.”

“Where did you get pig’s blood from?” Will asked as Annabeth drew a circle of blood in the parking lot out back, free from any of the patrons’ judging stares. Will hadn’t been able to find a tracking spell that didn’t require some sort of live sacrifice, so they settled on something that should, if done correctly, induce ‘helpful visions in one’s head.’

“It’s not quite pig’s blood, but don’t worry. It should still work,” Annabeth said firmly as she stepped back and admired her handiwork. “Also, don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to.”

“Fair enough,” Will said, opening his book and flipping to the page. He read the small inscription aloud but nothing happened. “Uh, maybe I didn’t read it right?”

“Sounded fine to me,” Annabeth remarked. “I’m pretty sure intent matters more than pronunciation.”

“Well, still, nothing’s-” Will began, but then everything went sideways. His vision swam and he was pretty sure he crumpled to the floor, his book dropping down next to him. Images flashed before his eyes, dozens at once. Just when it seemed he might drown in them and never resurface, he opened his eyes to see a slightly worried Annabeth standing over him.

“You okay? What did you see?” Annabeth asked, helping Will to his feet and handing him his book.

“I- I think I know who trapped us here. You here. Fuck,” Will said. Then the world went white.

"How did people live before milkshakes were invented?" Hazel exclaimed. She had already finished hers, so Will gave her the rest of his. "Honestly, they're God's gift to mankind."

“Hazel, can I ask you a question?” Will said, his head still spinning a little from either the visions or the way it had slammed into the concrete outside.

“Sure!” Hazel said, quickly draining the rest of Will’s milkshake.

“Have you ever felt like you were… trapped in place, unable to go anywhere or do anything. Just stuck in an endless cycle that constantly repeats itself?” Will asked. “And then you finally had a way out, but being out might be more scary than just staying?”

“Uh… actually, kinda yeah,” Hazel said slowly, clasping her hands gently over Will’s. “I- I spent some time in a… place, I don’t really know what to call it, before Nico found me. It was about a year ago and I was only there for a few months, but it was… a long few months. Everything seemed so gray and dull and lifeless.” Hazel laughed at her own joke, but Will wasn’t quite sure what the joke was.

“I’m sorry,” Will said softly. “That sounds horrible.”

“Oh it was!” Hazel exclaimed weirdly happily. “I had a truly shitty time there, but to get back to your question, it felt a lot like what you were describing. Every day was the same and while that wasn’t good at all, at least I knew what to expect. When Nico brought me back, I was afraid for good while. Afraid of everything. Afraid of the next day, afraid of sunrise and sunset, afraid of the uncertainty that being away from that dull, grey place brought.”

“You being scared of anything seems a little far fetched,” Will murmured with a smile.

“I was a completely different person back then. Somber, dull, overcast- honestly, I was the like the place I had been all that time. Until I wasn’t. I got help and it got better. Does that answer your question?” Hazel scratched the back of her head sheepishly. “Sorry if I rambled a little bit.”

“No. No! I mean, yes, you answered it perfectly!” Will exclaimed. He glanced over at Annabeth, who was, of course, at the counter, sending a death glare his way. “I- uh, I’m gonna order us some more fries. And a milkshake for Nico. I feel like he’s going to want one.” Hazel nodded and Will hurried off to the counter.

“Took you long enough,” Annabeth grumbled. “Now, what did you see?”

“A lot. Before you ask, it’s Silena. She has a flower in her purse, I think that’s what’s causing all this,” Will explained. Annabeth let out a growl and began to stalk off to Silena, but Will grabbed her arm, stopping her. “Wait. I don’t think it was her idea. I saw this company, I think. The Lotus Corporation? Something like that? They gave it to her, maybe just slipped it into her bag.”

Annabeth froze, her eyes wide. “That’s impossible,” she said, although her voice was shaky. “We burned them to the ground… decades ago.”

“Well, they’re back,” Will murmured. “I think. Honestly, it was a little hard to tell what I was seeing. I also this guy, I know him because he tried to kill me, but he was talking to them. He said your name. Annabeth, this trap was placed for you. For whatever reason.”

“What did he look like?” Annabeth said slowly.

“Uh, well, he’s blond, blue eyes-”

“Did he have a scar over his eye?” Annabeth asked with a desperate look in her eye, her hands digging into Will’s arms like talons.

“Y- yeah. When I met- when he tried to sacrifice my friends he said his name was Luke,” Will said quietly, glancing at Silena and Charles. They were still just chatting happily. “How do you know him?”

A strange expression crossed over Annabeth’s eyes and she pulled away abruptly from Will. “It’s not important. Let’s just focus on getting out of here first.” She turned to peer at Silena who was, as usual, talking happily with Charles. “I saw we go up to her and grab it.”

“What? No! Once we destroy the flower, no more time loops. We can’t just wait for her to reset and forget that we took her purse and smashed her flower.”

"Oh, please, what is she going to do? Call the cops over a flower?"

"Maybe! Annabeth, I- I really would rather the police not get involved," Will pleaded.

"Why? It's not like you murdered someone," Annabeth said with a snort. “Relax, the police aren’t going to take you to prison over a flower.”

“N- no! And, I’m more worried they’ll take me home,” Will spat out in a low voice. Something clicked in Annabeth’s head and she sighed, slumping a little.

“Fine. What do you suggest we do then?”

“Sir, your car is parked in the red and it’s about to be towed,” Annabeth told Charles flatly. “If you would just come with me so we could sort it out.”

“Uh… okay. I’ll be right back,” Charles said to Silena, following Annabeth up to the register. Once he was gone Will quickly slid into his seat.

“Oh, I’m sorry, my fiancé is sitting there,” Silena said politely.

“Charles Beckendorf. He’s an accountant, right?” Will said with a smile.

“Y- yeah...” Silena said hesitantly, she glanced out the window, but Annabeth had followed the plan and Charles was nowhere to be seen. “Do I know you?”

“No, but I know you,” Will said. “You run a flower shop on 6th Street. I like how you decorated for Easter, the bunny bouquets were a nice touch.”

“Who are you?”

“I’m you,” Will said as confidently and seriously as he could muster. “From an alternate universe. Listen, I’m not supposed to be here, but I’m trapped. By that flower in your purse. If you would just give me-”

Will hadn’t expected Silena to burst out laughing, so he instantly shut up when she did. “That is the best thing I’ve heard all day, oh my gosh!” she exclaimed, patting Will affectionately on the head. “Did Charles put you up to this? He’s so sweet- he remembered how much I liked that show.”

Will groaned and buried his head in his hands. Well, if at first you don’t succeed.

“Sir, your car is about to be towed,” Annabeth told Charles flatly. “If you would just come with me so we could sort it out.”

“Uh… okay. I’ll be right back,” Charles said to Silena, following Annabeth up to the register. Once he was gone Will quickly slid into his seat.

“Oh, I’m sorry, my fiancé is sitting there,” Silena said politely.

“You have a flower shop, right?” Will asked quickly. “Like, you own one?”

“Oh! Yes! How did you know?”

“I recognized you from your… Instagram,” Will said, although it sounded more like a question than he would have liked. “Is it possible you have… like an example of the flowers you sell?”

“Oh- uh, that’s… I have a bouquet in the car, but can I ask what the occasion is? Because the bouquet I have is for a funeral, but I can go get it, if you want.”

“Oh, no, that’s okay! I’m...” Will glanced around, his eyes accidentally locking with Nico, who was staring at him with a concerned expression. Will quickly ripped his gaze from Nico and turned back to face Silena, his gaze briefly passing over the ring on her finger. “Proposing. To my… boyfriend. And I don’t really have a ring, but he likes flowers. Lotus flowers in particular, so, I was hoping maybe I could get one.”

Silena frowned. “How old are you?”

“Grown?”

Silena sighed. “Honey, you’re not grown enough to be getting married. Is your boyfriend the goth boy over there?” Silena asked, motioning back to Nico. Will blushed and wished the loop would just reset already. “He doesn’t look much older than you- which is good! Don’t date older men, it’s weirdly normalized, but it’s not a good thing. Anyways, both of you are way too young to be getting married.”

“I- I know,” Will said with a sigh. “Nevermind, I just-”

“You love him?” Silena asked gently, clasping Will’s hands in hers like he was made of brittle porcelain. “Honey, I know you do. But trust me when I say don’t marry him. Marriage is a huge deal and once you get married, it’s not that easy to just go back. What did your parents say when you told them you wanted to marry him?”

Will froze, something like a scream lodged in the back of his throat. “I- I don’t-”

“Nevermind,” Silena said quickly, squeezing Will’s hands tightly. “Parents can be fucking horrible sometimes. Mine were. Look, why don’t you ask your boyfriend and your… other friend… to come sit with us and I’ll buy you all some fries or something. We can talk about it, and just work through some things, but I really don’t think you should be getting married at such a young age.”

Will was certain he was either going to combust or melt. Maybe both.

“Your car is five seconds from being dragged to the scrap yard by a huge tow truck,” Annabeth told Charles and Silena flatly. “If you would just come with me to the register so we could sort it out.”

“Uh… okay. I’ll be right back,” Charles said to Silena, following Annabeth outside. Once he was gone Will quickly slid into his seat, praying this time would go better than the last five. He was almost considering Annabeth’s plan at this point; just grab her purse and go.

“Oh, I’m sorry, my fiancé is sitting there,” Silena said politely.

“I ran away from home,” Will said, unable to look Silena in the eyes. “And I can’t go back but I honestly don’t know where to go or what I’m doing or who to go to. But I can’t go back, because he’ll kill me if I do, but I might as well be dead-”

“Fuck, okay,” Silena murmured, putting a reassuring hand on Will shoulder. “I’m kind of shitty when it comes this sort of thing, feelings, that is, but I get you. My parents were… not great people. I left for college and never went back. Haven’t seen them since.”

Will glanced up at Silena. He thought he might be crying. “And?”

“And… life goes on. How old are you? 18? 19? You can’t be much older than that. Are you a hugger?” Will nodded and Silena wrapped him in a tight hug. Will briefly noticed that some tears were getting on her cardigan, but she didn’t say anything about it. “Look, at that age, I get it, your parents are a huge part of your life. They raised you and have been a strong, overbearing presence in your life for the overwhelming majority of it. It can kinda seem like… like… I don’t know. That you aren’t anything separate from them, that you don’t know who you are without them.

“You feel lost and you kinda are. Like what the fuck am I doing with my life now that it is truly mine?  _ I _ certainly had no idea. From the looks of it, no offense, but you don’t either.”

Will laughed despite himself. “Yeah, I don’t,” he admitted with a sniffle.

“And that’s okay! You’ll figure it out. By yourself. Maybe with someone else. Or with friends. It doesn’t matter how, you just do. And life gets better,” Silena assured with a smile. “So much better. I promise.”

Will didn’t say anything, he just broke the hug and leaned back in his seat, grabbing a napkin and blowing his nose. Silena gave him a pitying look, standing up slowly and saying, “Do you like milkshakes? They’re my go-to comfort food. Got me through at least three breakups. I’m going to go find the waiter and order us some milkshakes.” And with that she was gone, her purse sitting in the chair where she had just been. Will could see a white petal poking out from it. All he had to do was reach out and grab it. Instead he did nothing, just sat back and waited for the world to turn white.

“Since God hates me, your car is being towed as speak,” Annabeth told Charles and Silena, sounding deader than a tomb. “If you would just come with me so we could sort it out.”

“Uh… okay. I’ll be right back,” Charles said to Silena, following Annabeth outside. Once he was gone Will quickly slid into his seat, his eyes no longer wet and his nose no longer runny like they were in the last loop.

“Oh, I’m sorry, my fiance is sitting there,” Silena said politely.

“Can I have a flower?” Will asked simply, twisting his thumbs together under the table nervously.

“Huh?”

“I- I just… I don’t know,” Will said with a dry laugh. “I’ve had kinda a shitty day. Shitty week. Weeks. You know?”

Silena stared at him for a second, her gaze soft. “Okay. Well, you’re in luck, I think I have something,” she said, quickly pulling a large and somehow uncrushed lotus from her purse. “Is this good?”

“It’s perfect,” Will whispered. “Thank you. Really.”

“Can I give you some advice? You don’t have to listen to it, but it always helped me.”

“Sure.”

“Whenever I had a huge problem or obstacle that I just overcame, whether that be a test, an essay, or an ex-boyfriend, I always liked to imagine throwing that problem in the trash, lighting it on fire, and watching it burn,” Silena said. “Now that I say it, that sounds very much like I’m an arsonist and serial murderer, which I am most assuredly not-”

“No!” Will exclaimed with a laugh. “It’s a great idea. Thank you so much. For the flower, for everything.”

“No problem,” Silena said with a small smile. She glanced over Will’s shoulder. “Uh, I think you better get back to your boyfriend. He looks pretty worried.”

“Boyfriend?” Will asked, glancing around.

“The emo kid,” Silena said, motioning at Nico who, to Silena’s credit, was staring at them with a large amount of concern.

“Oh. Him. Yeah. Thank you, again.”

Will slid into the booth next to Nico, holding the lotus in his hands. Annabeth hadn’t gotten back from distracting Charles yet and he had another few minutes before the loop restarted. “Hey, nice flower!” Hazel exclaimed. “Side note, are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah, why?” Will asked, ignoring Hazel and Nico’s concerned expressions. “Do either of you have a lighter?”

“I don’t,” Hazel said. “Although, Nico has matches.”

“Why do you have matches but not a lighter?” Will asked with a playful smile. “I would assume lighting a cigarette would be harder with a match.”

“I don’t smoke, so I wouldn’t know,” Nico said, blushing as he tossed a floral match case on the table.

“He likes to light incense,” Hazel quickly supplied, earning her a light kick under the table from Nico. “What? It’s true!”

“I think that’s lovely,” Will said honestly, pulling out a match, striking it, and lighting the flower on fire. He tossed it in an empty milkshake cup, while Hazel and Nico jumped back in surprise.

“Woah! What the fuck?” Hazel exclaimed, grabbing a glass of water. “Will, what are you-”

“Just let it burn,” Will said solidly and Hazel slowly put her glass down, sharing a confused look with Nico. “I’ll explain in the car.”

“Two vanilla milshakes and the check,” Annabeth announced, appearing out of nowhere. She was smiling with a glimmer in her eyes that Will hadn’t seen before. “Hope you enjoyed your meal.”

Will let everything fade into background noise as he calculated the check. He left a 100% tip because being in the service industry was fucking hard. The hours were endless and the customers, when not basically the same person over and over, were flat out rude. He even scribbled a nice flower next to the total. As he went over the bill one last time a sentence towards the bottom caught his eye. “Meet me outside in five minutes,” he read aloud. Nico and Hazel immediately ceased their conversation and stared at him. For an agonizingly awkward second, there was complete silence at their booth.

“What?” Hazel exclaimed, snatching the bill from Will and breaking the silence. “Oh my god, that waitress, she’s- she’s flirting with you.”

“She’s fucking propositioning you,” Nico grumbled, shifting so he could see the bill too. “That’s so-”

“Funny, oh my god,” Hazel said with a laugh. Will felt laughing alongside her. “Not funny because it’s funny that someone’s attracted to you. Because you’re attractive, so it’s normal. Right Nico? Will’s attractive?”

“Right,” Nico said automatically. Will felt like laughing even harder, but he kept it under control. “Wait, what-”

“I just meant that this situation is funny,” Hazel explained. “Although honestly it’s a little awkward. What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to meet her outside in five minutes,” Will said with a grin. Then he burst out laughing again, ignoring the confused and concerned looks from Nico and Hazel.

  
“What are you going to do now?” Will asked, stretching happily up to the sky. Nico and Hazel had gone ahead to the car, electing to give Will some time to deal with the strange waitress that was allegedly hitting on him.

“Quit this fucking job,” Annabeth deadpanned. “Report back to the Order.”

“Speaking of the order, remember how my friends almost got sacrificed by that Luke dude?” Will asked.

“You mentioned it,” Annabeth said, the humor draining from her voice.

“Isn’t the Order like the magical police? Is that a crime I can report to you? And if it isn’t- why not?”

Annabeth let out a weary sigh. “I’m genuinely sorry that your friends were almost killed. I- uh, this wasn’t supposed to happen.  _ That _ isn’t supposed to be happening, but… well… The Order isn’t what it used to be,” Annabeth explained grimly. “And in our absence, things have been slipping through the cracks.”

“The cracks? Luke was running an entire cult. That’s one hell of a crack.”

Annabeth turned suddenly to face Will, her grey eyes stormy and determined. “Will, I promise you, I’m going to find Luke and I am going to kill him. His crimes- god, everything he’s done- I will put an end to it. No matter what.”

“I… I believe you,” Will said gently and honestly. He was a little surprised, but he did. “You obviously know him better than I, but I can’t say I have much mercy in my heart for him.”

“I don’t blame you,” Annabeth said. They stood in silence for a moment, just enjoying the fresh air. “He’s my older brother. Adopted, although I was often told we have a strong resemblance.”

Will couldn’t help it, he laughed. “You must have one hell of a fucked up family. Sorry, but… God!”

Annabeth stared at him for a second, her grey eyes incomprehensible, before she started to laugh too. “Safe travels, Will. I genuinely hope that the next time we meet, it’s in better conditions.” She extended her hand and Will heartily shook it.

“Safe travels, Annabeth.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't read this over for spelling, grammatical, or continuity errors so, here you go!


End file.
